PAST TENSES IN PORTUGUESE: PRETÉRITO PERFEITO vs. PRETÉRITO IMPERFEITO

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You could note that if you don't use the proper conjugation in Portuguese your phrase can be quite confused. In this article I will discuss about “Pretérito Perfeito” and “Pretérito Imperfeito”.

In this post I want to talk about a subject that doesn't bring me any memory about a special question. no special question because this subject is something that guarantees interesting questions from anybody that learns Portuguese... Let's go:

PRETÉRITO PERFEITO SIMPLES

First, let's see what does pretérito perfeito simples do. This tense expresses a not customary action in the past that was completely finished. See the table below, it shows the conjugation for regular verbs:

CANTAR	COMER	EXISTIR
Eu cantei Tu cantaste Ele/Ela/Você cantou Nós cantamos Vós cantastes Eles/Elas/Vocês cantaram	Eu comi Tu comeste Ele/Ela/Você comeu Nós comemos Vós comestes Eles/Elas/Vocês comeram	Eu existi Tu exististe Ele/Ela/Você existiu Nós existimos Vós exististes Eles/Elas/Vocês existiram

Good! Now we already know what this tense does and you already know the proper conjugation. Now let's see what are the situations where we need to use the pretérito perfeito:

1 ) Show a completed action, an already performed action:
Nós arrumamos tudo e saímos mais cedo de casa.
Ele estudou as lições ontem à noite.

2 ) Ask and answer about what has been done:
— Você comprou este sapato na loja de Maria?
— Sim comprei.

We can write an exercice to help us remember about pretérito perfeito? In the box bellow, you can write about how did your last trip go...





PRETÉRITO IMPERFEITO

Now let's talk about pretérito imperfeito. This tense expresses an action in the past that was interrupted. Also, the imperfeito expresses an customary action in the past that is not performed anymore. The table bellow shows the proper conjugation:

CANTAR	COMER	EXISTIR
Eu cantava Tu cantavas Ele/Ela/Você cantava Nós cantávamos Vós cantáveis Eles/Elas/Vocês cantavam	Eu comia Tu comias Ele/Ela/Você comia Nós comíamos Vós comíeis Eles comiam	Eu comia Tu comias Ele/Ela/Você comia Nós comíamos Vós comíeis Eles comiam

A simple situation where we can use the imperfeito is

1) To indicate an action that was interrupted:
Pedro brincava no quintal quando começou a chover.
Ele estudava as lições quando foi interrompido.

But there are more situations where we can apply the imperfeito:

2) to indicates a continuous action performed in the past that it doesn't performed anymore:
João viajava todo final de semana.

3) To describe people, things etc. in the past:
Os convidados usavam roupas bonitas.

4) To indicate simultaneous action.
Renata fazia o almoço enquanto Mariana arrumava a casa.

We can do this exercise to help memorize the use of pretérito imperfeito. In the box below, you can write about how was your life in school...





PRETÉRITO PERFEITO COMPOSTO

Something really important about the Pretérito Perfeito and Pretérito Imperfeito is that these tenses indicate actions in the pas that has nothing to do with the present. (if you are fluent in Spanish, you can see some important issues in the "attention" boxes in the Spanish Version for this article)

And it's interesting to compare these tenses with the Pretérito Perfeito Composto. We use the perfeito composto to indicate an customary action that was initiated in the past and continues to the present. The table below shows the proper structure:

CANTAR	COMER
Eu tenho cantado Tu tens cantado Ele/Ela/Você tem cantado Nós temos cantado Vós tendes cantado Eles/Elas/Vocês têm cantado	Eu tenho comido Tu tens comido Ele/Ela/Você tem comido Nós temos comido Vós tendes comido Eles/Elas/Vocês têm comido

Example:
Tenho estudado nos últimos dias e tenho ampliado bastante meus conhecimentos.

Now let's do the last exercise to help us to memorize the pretérito perfeito composto. In the box bellow, you can write what have you been doing to improve your Portuguese skills...

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